West Coasting

Hey, Cavalier fans and CavFanatics. It’s A.C., checking in from the West Coast – San Francisco, to be exact. What’s happening?

I hope you were able to stay up late for Monday’s win over the Clippers. So many of our guys played well and it seemed like the light came on for a couple others.

They got off to a slow start, but Byron called a timeout, read them the riot act and got them straightened out. And you’re seeing that the team is starting to mature and understand who they are. They’re learning on the fly what they have to do to win ballgames – and the effort they have to have. And the second unit came up huge. Tyler was big; C.J. looks like he’s starting to get it together.

I think the Milwaukee game showed them what they have to do – and how they have to play, what pace they have to play. And the key was for them to play that way last night against a good team. Because that tells me that now they understand the style and speed they need to play and be successful at it.

You can teach guys a lot of different things, but until they have success doing it, it’s not going to work. You have to see success as the result of what you’re teaching them for it to work.

Right now, they know who they are and what they are. Yesterday’s game was so important, especially after the way they lost in Milwaukee. As a team, a win like that means big-time growth game. They could have laid down and felt sorry for themselves after that loss on Saturday.

There were so many impressive aspects of that win. And not all were seen in the boxscore.

Alonzo Gee was huge last night. I think his play – especially on the defensive end – set the tone for the entire game. He didn’t let Chris Paul go where he wanted to go and it seemed like the rest of the team had that same attitude. And once they got the offensive end straightened out, the defensive end was already taking care of itself.

But Alonzo has become the stopper. And he’s setting the tone for this team.

Tristan was almost as good on the defensive end. He takes up a lot of space around that basket, and he makes it very difficult for teams to do what they want to do down there. He fights guys.

The only thing Tristan has to start doing is converting on some of those put-backs. He’s getting himself a little too far under the basket. Other than that, his effort on the defensive end is solid. And offensively, he gives you what he can. Offensively, you’d like to see him start cracking double-figures. He doesn’t have to score a ton. He and Andy both have the capability to be double-double men.
And then, there were guys who did make a splash in the boxscore – especially Dion Waiters.

He’s definitely proven that he was worthy of being the fourth player taken in the draft. Every night now, he’s playing at a very high level. And he and Kyrie seem to be developing a good rhythm with one another out on the floor. And he’s understanding how he fits in. When the ball is swung to his side, there’s no indecision.

To be honest, we haven’t had that many scoring two-guards in the history of the franchise. It’s been an Achilles heel at times. With Dion cementing that role, now you’re able to keep everybody in their proper position.

When we made our run, Tyler was at center and Andy was at the four. And Tristan is able to play both power forward and center. So you’re seeing guys getting comfortable with each other and their roles. We have some versatile big men.

Tyler came up big last night. And, along with Miles, he was the impetus for the second unit.

When the first unit got back in the ballgame after the slow start and got everything going, the second unit is what sustained it. They outscored their bench 15-10 in the second quarter and that was a major factor in the win. All of sudden, instead of the first team coming back at a deficit, they were up – and the energy level stayed that way.

I’ve talked about this a lot, but it’s critical that guys understand their roles. It’s huge because now you’re comfortable when you go in there. When the play is run, you know if it’s coming to you, if you have to set the pick, if you have to make the pass. You know where the point of attack is now. And that’s so important when you’re trying to establish a camaraderie on the floor.

I’m starting to see that now and it’s perfect timing for them to try to get some wins on the rest of this road trip.

The Cavs will have their work cut for them on Wednesday night against a young, running team that’s not that different from them. The Warriors are going to up and running with us. So the key will be to defend the fastbreak and at the same time, play our game – run off of defensive turnovers.

That’s the perfect formula for us.